EXCERPTS FROM MADISON.COM/THE CAP TIMES: On Monday August 6, Madison planning firm Vandewalle & Associates Inc. presented its report, including a vision for the site and strategic next steps, to the Alliant Energy Center (AEC) Master Planning Oversight Committee. Armed with initial recommendations and a vision for the future of the Alliant Energy Center campus, Dane County’s committee overseeing the process of planning a renovation of the site is poised to consider approval at its next meeting in September. With input from committee members and the community, the proposed vision for the “key regional asset” is to serve as a “dynamic convening campus” that provides an authentic Dane County experience for community and visitors. The AEC should also serve as a “catalyst for a vibrant destination district driving tax base growth and increased access to economic opportunity for area residents,” according to the report.

“This is a place people come from all over the world to, and it should reveal the character and the value and the place that is the Madison region,” Vandewalle principal planner Rob Gottschalk said.

The eventual master plan is meant to build on core elements identified such as agriculture, tech, fitness, competitions and consumer shows, according to the report. It should also represent the “Madison region and Wisconsin experience” through a connection to the state’s agricultural diversity, lakes presence and biking opportunities.

Dane County Board Chair Sharon Corrigan said creating a destination that is walkable, compact and with connections to the surrounding area will create economic opportunity that does not currently exist in the South Park Street corridor and the entire county. “The threat is that if we don’t do this, if we don’t invest in the campus in a thoughtful, logical way then we’re not … perhaps keeping up with the competition,” Corrigan said. “Secondly, we’re definitely not taking advantage of the kind of opportunities that are out there that we could bring more economic resources to the community.”

Corrigan and other committee members referenced last week’s CrossFit Games as an example of what a future dynamic campus could offer.

“It is a great example of what investment to the campus might do,” Corrigan said.

The oversight committee is scheduled to take action on Vandewalle’s report at its meeting Sept. 11, before it moves onto the county’s Personnel & Finance and Public Works & Transportation Committee meeting. The $250,000 master planning process would likely not begin until 2018, Corrigan said.